The invention relates to a system that can verify the compliance of fire/life safety systems and/or components with (or against) a given set of operational criteria. This operational criteria can include, but is not limited to, conventional wisdom accepted within a specific organization or geographic region, manufacturer's recommendations or practices, industry standards and fire/life safety codes. By being able to verify compliance with (or against) these various operational criteria, the invention is able to make several verifications of fire/life safety systems and/or components which can include, but are not limited to, verification of the operational state of readiness and code compliance verification. Preferably, the invention verifies fire/life safety code compliance of fire/life safety systems and/or components since this is the "highest degree" (most stringent form) of compliance verification. The ability of the invention to verify compliance with (or against) any "lesser" set of operational criteria can be achieved when compliance with a "lesser" criteria is acceptable. As such, industry standards and fire/life safety codes are the operational criteria referenced herein with respect to preferred embodiments.
A building/structure's fire/life safety system is typically made up of at least one of the following, but not limited to, three stand-alone yet interrelated component (sub)systems--the fire suppression system (which includes but is not limited to the following types--water-based fire protection systems, chemical systems, halon systems, and CO2 systems), the fire detection/alarm system, and the life safety system. Each (sub)system has a unique function: the fire suppression system, that of containing, and neutralizing fire; the fire detection/alarm system, that of detecting fire and alerting building/structure occupants and fire fighting authorities of that fact; the life safety system, which in many instances is actuated by the fire alarm system, enhances the environment within a building/structure for its occupants and allows safe egress from the building/structure in the event of a fire. When more than one of these (sub)systems are present in a building/structure, they are typically combined to form an integrated fire/life safety system which protects both life and property in manner that is superior to that which could be provided by each of these (sub)systems had they not been combined to form an integrated system.
The fire/life safety system of a building/structure must be designed and installed in such a way as to ensure that its operation after installation will be in accordance with fire/life safety codes and industry standards. Once installed, however, the fire/life safety system must also be maintained and tested in accordance with these same codes and standards to ensure that its operating performance remains unimpaired; that is, it must remain code compliant and kept in a state of operational readiness, which ensures its effectiveness. Thus, there is a need for such a system to verify compliance of the entire fire/life safety system, particularly with respect to operational criteria such as fire/life safety codes and associated industry standards.
Building/structure owners, fire safety officials and the insurance industry have long ago recognized the effectiveness of fire suppression systems, particularly water-based fire protection systems to minimize loss of life and/or property due to fires. Over time, industry standards and codes were developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), and Factory Mutual (FM) to standardize the design, installation, operation, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems.
Applicable standards/codes include, but are not limited to: NFPA Standard 13, which in simplified terms regulates (installation of) sprinkler systems; NFPA Standard 14, which in simplified terms regulates (installation of) standpipe and hose systems; NFPA Standard 20, which in simplified terms regulates (installation of) fire pumps; and NFPA Standard 25 which in simplified terms regulates the testing and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems. Full compliance with these standards/codes is paramount to ensure that in the event of a fire, water-based fire protection systems perform as designed. Adherence to NFPA Standard 25 is most critical since it pertains to routine testing and maintenance requirements that help ensure the successful automatic operation of a water-based fire protection system.
These testing and maintenance requirements as set forth in NFPA Standard 25, and elsewhere, are to be conducted weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually depending on the pertinent code. In simplified terms, the applicable NFPA Standard 25 codes are as follows:
(1) The fire pump system is to be tested by a qualified person once a week to determine if the fire pump starts automatically due to a drop in water pressure inside a sprinkler system, and that the fire pump produces and maintains a designated pressure for that particular system.
(2) A pressure maintenance pump, commonly referred to as a jockey pump, is required to be integral with the fire pump system for automatically maintaining system pressure. This small pump as controlled by the pressure maintenance pump controller keeps the system at a predetermined pressure so that the fire pump will only run when a fire occurs or the jockey pump is overcome by loss in system pressure. The code prohibits the use of a fire pump as a pressure maintenance device.
(3) The fire pump system must be further inspected by a qualified person for compliance with NFPA Standards 20 and 25 once a year. This person performs/witnesses the test, and certifies that the fire protection system meets code. Typically, local fire authorities and insurance entities are interested in compliance, and one or both may observe this test.
(4) Sprinkler systems, etc. also have frequent testing requirements such as, but not limited to, quarterly main drain tests, quarterly alarm device tests, weekly/monthly control valve inspection and tests, daily water tank temperature inspection, daily/weekly pump-house/valve-room temperature inspection, semi-annual water level alarm inspection, annual full flow test of preaction and deluge valves, quarterly dry pipe valve inspection, and annual trip tests.
There are several problems, however, with current practices of testing. First, each building/structure owner is for the most part left to conduct the weekly tests, unchecked and unsupervised by a higher authority. These tests are typically conducted by building maintenance personnel not specifically trained in water-based fire protection systems. At best, all that is often written down is a date, and a Yes/No (Y/N) indication of inspection, testing, or compliance on a clipboard near the controller or in the valve room. This Y/N indication is based solely on a manual or visual inspection of the system. Such testing is subject to unknown quality and reliability, as it is subject to human error. Several conditions could exist which would allow continued sub-par operational performance and/or non-compliance of the system. These include: 1) error in visually inspecting system operation, 2) negligently or falsely indicating acceptable operation when the test in fact showed sub-par operational performance levels, 3) error in performing the tests on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis, and 4) falsely reporting testing when testing was not even conducted.
Fire pump tests vary for electric motor driven fire pumps and diesel engine driven fire pumps, and the sprinkler system(s) test(s) is(are) altogether different from the pump tests. The fire pump tests, in very basic terms, consist of but are not limited to the following items:
Electric fire pumps are tested for automatic start by manually opening a drain valve, which drops system pressure. If the electric fire pump successfully starts automatically, a typical test would include inspection of the following items: verification of normal pump discharge and suction pressures, rpm of pump is as rated, amperage and voltages per phase are as rated, the pump pressure relief valve is correctly adjusted, the packing glands are adjusted correctly, the fire alarm panel receives a pump running indication, the pump housing and bearing bosses are not overheating, and there are no abnormal or excessive leakages. At the conclusion of the test, the fire pump controller is turned to the "off" position and the fire alarm control panel should receive this indication and sound an audible trouble indication. When the controller is returned to the "auto" (automatic) position, the fire alarm control panel should return to its normal status.
Additional tests may include: determination of jockey pump and fire pump start and stop pressures, phase reversal or testing to ensure phase failure alarms are operating correctly, and determination that emergency electrical power is available via an automatic transfer switch. The required minimum run time for weekly testing of electrically driven fire pumps is 10 minutes. Contemporary fire pump controllers for electric motor driven fire pumps are not equipped with time clocks as are required for diesel engines, nor is there a requirement for automatic weekly testing. So, unless electrically driven fire pumps are manually started, there is no guarantee of any tests being conducted.
Diesel engine driven fire pumps are required by NFPA to have a time clock installed in the fire pump controller to automatically start the fire pump on a weekly basis. The time clock automatically tells the controller to activate a deluge valve to drop system pressure, allows the pump to operate for 30 minutes, and then stops the pump and returns the fire pump system to the normal automatic mode. Once running, inspections similar to those of the electric motor driven fire pump are to be conducted.
These inspections include, but are not limited to determining: normal pump discharge and suction pressures, that rpm of pump is as rated, that the pump pressure relief valve is correctly adjusted, that the packing glands are adjusted correctly, that the fire alarm panel receives a pump running indication, that the pump housing and bearing bosses are not overheating, and that there are no abnormal or excessive leakages. At the conclusion of the test, the fire pump controller is turned to the "off" position and the fire alarm control panel should receive this indication and sound an audible trouble indication. When the controller is returned to the "auto" (automatic) position, the fire alarm control panel should return to its normal status. Additional inspections may include: determination of jockey pump and fire pump start and stop pressures, normal operating parameters of the diesel engine, such as coolant level and temperature, oil level and pressure, etc.
The problem with this scenario is that it assumes that a qualified person is present to conduct the required inspections, when in fact, maintenance personnel do not have to be present for the automatic start and stop sequence to occur. Just because the diesel engine started and stopped automatically does not mean that a valid inspection was conducted nor that the fire pump system is code compliant. Although the pump may be started and stopped automatically by the fire pump controller, the controller has no capability to verify code compliance nor is it required by NFPA standards/codes to do so.
The fire pump controller that controls operation of the fire pump, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,290, and built in compliance with NFPA, UL, and FM, provides automatic operation of the fire pump that typically supplements water-based fire protection systems, such as sprinkler systems. A fire pump controller is designed to control fire pump operation by detecting a drop in system pressure, which typically indicates that a sprinkler has been activated as a result of a fire. The controller then performs necessary sequential operations to activate the pump driver, either diesel, electric, or steam turbine, to pump water through the system. The fire pump then maintains a predetermined volume of water and pressure to control or defeat the fire. Existing fire pump controllers are also designed to evaluate basic system parameters essential to the automatic operation of the fire pump.
Some controllers, such as the controller disclosed in the above-mentioned '290 patent, include a program for automatically testing the diesel fire pump system on a weekly basis as referenced. Such controllers typically have a hard copy printout showing time/date stamped raw data relating to fire pump events. This data information, however, is not a code compliance verification report, nor could it ever be, since the controller in the '290 patent only prints data when the pump/engine is started and running, when attempted but failed starts occur, or when the controller is in a specific monitor mode. If nothing is ever printed, i.e. the pump/engine never runs, no specific determination of code compliance can be reached, save for an assumption that the pump/engine never ran or attempted to start.
There are even several circumstances where an automatic test is not highly reliable. For instance, the controller software program could be purposely changed or deleted to prevent the testing of a problem fire pump system. As such, a manual test or a falsified test could be substituted for the automatic test. Alternatively, drained starter batteries for the diesel driver could prevent testing initiation, as could a failed automatic time clock. Even further, automatic testing controllers, such as disclosed in the '290 patent, only evaluate the necessary system parameters needed for their own proper operation and are unable to determine the dependability of the overall water-based fire protection system, which is a prerequisite for verification of code compliance.
Furthermore, in either manual or automatic testing, there is no way for interested parties to know, other than by physically overseeing the test, whether the test was satisfactorily conducted.
The wide variety of sprinkler systems likewise have their own unique test, inspection, and maintenance requirements as set forth in NFPA Standard 25 and others. While these requirements differ from those of fire pumps, the difficulty in ensuring system code compliance does not. Since there are far more sprinkler systems than fire pump systems, perhaps by a ratio of at least 10 to 1, the need to verify code compliance of these systems is likewise amplified.
Sprinkler system test, inspection, and maintenance requirements are as diverse as the systems themselves. Requirements vary depending on system type, but can be generalized in simplified terms to include, but not be limited to: testing of flow switches, tamper switches, pressure switches, and alarm devices; and inspection of water levels, water temperature, valve-room temperatures, control valves, alarm valves, deluge valves, dry pipe valves, air pressure maintenance devices, foam supply levels, and proportioning systems. In general, these requirements shall be met by qualified personnel activating the system or simulating an activation via by-pass or test stations, and by direct visual or mechanical inspection.
Coincidentally, information from similar switches and devices is used by an attendant fire alarm control panel to: 1) determine a fire condition, 2) annunciate that fact throughout the building/structure, 3) notify/summon fire fighting authorities, 4) indicate system trouble, and/or 5) notify/activate life safety systems. As mentioned earlier, fire pump run status is also utilized by the fire alarm control panel in its decision-making process. Because of its specific purpose and design, the fire alarm control panel is exclusively a special purpose device, a reactionary unit intended for fire detection and notification and fire annunciation, and one that determines specific trouble conditions.
As can be seen, the fire alarm control panel, the fire pump controller, and the jockey pump controller all utilize similar water-based fire protection system component parameters. However, neither the three control devices singly, nor in aggregate, could ever be used to verify code compliance of the water-based fire protection system. Each control device has a specific function and each only "sees" a limited portion of the system.
There is a need for a device and method that transcends the functions of these control devices and manual testing procedures to verify that the entire water-based fire protection system is code compliant and in a state of known operational readiness and functionality.
As noted above, the fire detection/alarm system is a special purpose device, a reactionary unit intended for fire detection and notification, and one that determines specific trouble conditions. The fire detection/alarm system in and of itself is not capable, nor designed to be capable of, verifying the code compliance of itself, let alone a building/structure's fire/life safety system. So there remains a need for a system and method to determine and verify code compliance for the fire detection/alarm system as well as the entire fire/life safety system.
Fire detection/alarm systems are typically comprised of, but not limited to, the following components: the fire alarm control panel (FACP), manual pull stations, smoke detectors, heat detectors, and alarm notification devices (bells, sirens, strobe lights, etc.). Where applicable the FACP, being a control device, becomes the "heart" of a building/structure's fire/life safety system since it serves as the integration point of all pertinent signaling lines for specific indicators from the fire suppression system and control/signaling lines to the life safety system, as well as its own control and signaling lines to/from the fire detection/alarm system's detectors and alarm notification devices. When warranted, the FACP can be monitored by a central station service which serves to summon fire fighting authorities in the event of a fire and notify of particular system trouble conditions.
Fire detection/alarm system test, inspection, and maintenance requirements are as diverse as the systems themselves. These requirements vary depending on system configuration and integration to any water-based fire protection or life safety system, but based upon, but not limited to, NFPA 70, 71 and 72 (D,E,G,H, et al) can be generalized in simplified terms to include, but not be limited to: periodic (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually, depending on the specific code requirement) testing of smoke detectors, heat detectors, and pull stations; testing of flow switch signal, tamper switch signal, fire pump signal reception/activation; testing of alarm notification devices; and testing of central station service. In general, these requirements shall be met by qualified personnel activating the requisite system components or simulating an activation via test methods, and by direct visual or mechanical inspection.
Life safety systems include, but are not limited to, smoke evacuation systems, smoke pressurization systems, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) shutdown systems, elevator recall systems, fire door open/close systems, and crossover to emergency (back-up) power systems.
In the event of a fire, the purpose of these systems is to enhance the conditions inside a building/structure in such a way that loss of life is minimized. The smoke evacuation, pressurization, and HVAC shutdown systems attempt to prevent the spread of toxic and often deadly smoke and ftumes. The elevator recall system returns all elevators to the main (exit) level; preventing further use, except by authorized personnel and ensuring that people do not become trapped inside the elevators during a fire. Fire door open/close systems ensure that critical fire doors close automatically to seal off sections of the building/structure in an attempt to retard the spread of the fire and emergency egress doors automatically open. The crossover to emergency (back-up) power system ensures that emergency electrical power is automatically applied to the building/structure's electrical distribution network so that essential fire suppression/life safety circuits remain energized. These life safety systems are typically interfaced to the FACP since the control signals that activate many of these systems originate from the fire detection/alarm system when it is in the "alarm condition"; that is, a fire condition has been detected and an alarm has been sent out. As such, they are typically tested in conjunction with the FACP.
Life safety system test, inspection, and maintenance requirements vary depending on system configuration and integration to any water-based fire protection and/or fire detection/alarm system, and based upon, but not limited to, NFPA 70, 71 and 72 can be generalized in simplified terms to include, but not be limited to: periodic (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually, depending on the specific code requirement) testing of smoke evacuation, smoke pressurization, HVAC shutdown, elevator recall, and fire door close/open systems when the FACP is in the "alarm condition". The general test determination being, did these systems function properly when the FACP was in the "alarm condition"? For example, did the elevator recall system send all the elevators to the main (exit) level when the FACP went into the "alarm condition"? For the crossover to emergency (back-up) power system, tests include but are not limited to: Did the system provide emergency (back-up) power to essential circuits? Did the emergency generator start in the required time? Since these life safety systems perform a vital function in preventing the loss of life, there is need to verify their code compliance, which will help ensure that these systems are kept in a state of known operational readiness, thus improving their reliability and performance.
In spite of all of these deficiencies and needs, the fire protection industryas a whole, assumes that fire/life safety problems have been particular standards, such as, but not limited to, NFPA 13, 14, 20 and 25. It further assumes that: (1) every system is being installed, maintained and tested according to the code, (2) if not, at least the required once a year inspection is sufficient to ensure safety, or (3) a better method or system of ensuring compliance is unavailable.
Such assumptions are far from acceptable when lives and property rely so heavily on the proper operability of these fire/life safety systems. The current practice of the industry offers no method of verification that such tests have actually been conducted according to the required standards. Instead, the industry relies on only a minute sampling of the system's performance, once a year (i.e., one day out of 365) by inspectors of varying capability and integrity. It then assumes that for the remaining 364 days of the year the system remains fully functional.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method capable of notifying insurers, property management companies, building/structure owners or other interested entities of any discrepancies or deviations in the preparedness of fire/life safety systems. Such a system and method will bring about more strict code compliance, through improved testing and maintenance practices, so that reliability of fire/life safety systems will be greatly increased.
There is also a need for such a system and method that can ascertain the functionality of a fire/life safety system, and on a real-time basis notify interested parties of problem conditions as they occur. Further, there is a need for such a system and method that can collect and utilize such information through statistical analysis over long time periods, which can provide historical maintenance and troubleshooting information, and which will help to reduce failures of water-based fire protection systems and increase component reliability and service life.